The Three Fights
by annarosen
Summary: James Mellark, 42 years old, owner of the local bakery, father to my three beautiful sons and husband to my wife. I have raised my voice and lost my calm on only three occasions. Every single one involved the love of my life, Mia Everdeen. This is the story of my three fights with her, and my pledge after the third to protect my son Peeta from her daughter, Katniss Everdeen.
1. Chapter 1

The characters in this story are from the wonderful Hunger Games Trilogy owned by the talented and extraordinary Suzanne Collins.

Enjoy!

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James Mellark, 42 years of age, owner of the local bakery, father to my three beautiful sons and husband to my wife. A man of few words… well at least over time I have become a man of few words. I'd like to think of myself as a kind man… a good man.

I have raised my voice and lost my composure only on three occasions. Every single one involved the love of my life, Mia Everdeen.

This is the story of my three fights with her, and my pledge after the third to protect my son from her daughter, Katniss Everdeen.

* * *

I spent most of the day smiling like a pathetic fool at my father's bakery. The thought of having her as my wife overwhelmed me.

I had solidified my decision the night before. As soon as the reaping was over, if neither one of us were chosen, I was going to ask her to marry me.

I was going to ask her to _marry me._

That's what you did in District 12. You turn eighteen, face your last reaping, and if you were spared you get married.

I still remember the way my stomach had turned all day and the way my heart ached.

I slipped my mother's gold locket in my pocket. It was going to be my gift to her, a symbol of my devotion. A symbol of my promise that no matter what happened, I was going to protect her and be there for her.

I walked to the justice building as a potential tribute for the last time and spotted her in the crowd. My love, Mia, who will soon be my wife. I take my position next to my classmates, and begin to pray.

I felt like something was stuck in my gut the whole reaping. When neither one of us were called, I was ecstatic.

My life had begun.

_Our life had begun. _

I look over to her eager to catch her eyes, but her gaze was directed at someone else. Slightly confused, I followed her gaze to a young man from the Seam. He often came to the bakery to trade the game he hunted illegally outside the fence.

It felt like a knife had been wedged inside my heart. She had grown distant over the last few weeks but I thought it was all the nerves from the upcoming reaping.

I remember releasing my clenched fist, and laughing at myself for feeling threatened by that coal miner.

Mia loves me, she said so herself I assured myself.

After the reaping I gathered my courage and knocked on her front door. Her father opened the door to his house and shook my hand. "Welcome to the family my son," he said patting my shoulder.

"I haven't asked her to marry me yet," I joked with her father. Clearly he approved of this match. He had jumped into my arms when I had asked him for permission to marry his daughter a few weeks ago.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He pointed to the staircase that led to Mia's room. With a quick smile and a pat on the back, I was on my way.

* * *

"Come in," she said softly in her velvet like voice. She turned to me with a smile and a look that puzzled me. I smirk thinking back to that very moment when my instinct had made me hesitate. Foolishly I had pushed aside my doubt and stepped through the threshold into her room.

I get right to it, my heart was beating so fast and I was afraid that if I didn't ask her right there and then I may chicken out and run away into the night.

She sat on her bed with her fragile hands folded on the hem of her blue reaping dress which rested right above her knees. I get down on one knee and clasp her hand in mine and begin my well-practiced proposal.

"Mia, from the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were the one for me," I stare into her eyes and begin to regret my action right away. I keep going because I refuse to let this moment be taken away, "I promise to love you with all my heart and soul, and will never let a day go by without making you feel joy in every cell of your body," my eyes begin to water when she tries to interrupted me by whispering my name numerous times throughout my proposal.

"I'll give you my heart, my soul, hell… I'd die for you," no Mia, please don't do this, I think to myself and pull out my mother's locket. "This locket is the most valuable thing that my family owns, passed through generations and I want you to have it," I wish there was someone there at that very moment to knock me unconscious to make me stop. I was digging my grave so fast and so deep there was no way anyone could ever dig me out of it.

I only stop when she places her finger on my lip to silence me.

It is agonizing, waiting for her to break my heart but I have to hear it.

"I… I… can't… James, I'm sorry."

* * *

I don't remember whether I ran down the stairs or walked it. Nor do I remember how I made it outside, walking aimlessly in the rain like a lost child.

I was so angry I felt like murdering someone. I was so upset I felt like crawling into a hole and just dying.

She caught up with me in the rain and stood in my tracks her hands on my upper arms. I couldn't tell if she was crying like I was or if it was just the rain drenching her face.

"Please don't be mad James," please don't be _mad, _was she serious?

She continued, "I met someone, and I always pictured my life with you James, I did. Please believe me when I say that I love you, but I'm _in _love with him," what is this, a scene from a bad movie, where the classic I'm not 'in' love with you line gets used?

"He is a good man James, he works in the mines and he hunts and he sings… he makes me feel whole."

She shakes me because I'm a hollow shell but I don't bother responding. What's the point, I feel dead.

"Say something!" she screams in my face and somehow this desperate call snaps me back to reality.

"I am humiliated." That's all I say to her, I barely whisper it.

"You'll find someone else James, someone better than me, someone that will love you more than I ever can," she steps close to me and places her hand on my chin lifting my gaze to meet hers.

The rain continues to fall, drenching us.

"Please get out of my way Mia," I whisper through my clenched teeth.

"Don't be mad at me… please…" she says in desperation wrapping her fragile arms around my waist resting her head on my chest.

I snap.

"What do you want me to say Mia," I'm surprised at the ferocity and force behind the shove I give her, pushing her away from me. "Do you want me to say that its _OK_, that I _forgive_ you, that I am _happy _for you?" she opens her mouth to start again but I don't let her. "We made love Mia, doesn't that mean anything to you?" I'm being cruel I know, but I don't give a damn about her feelings. Clearly she never gave a damn about mine.

"Don't you _dare_ ruin what we had James," she yells back at me.

"We don't _have _anything anymore right?" I yell even louder stepping in to close the distance between us and catch myself looking at her with pleading eyes.

I'm not ashamed and to admit that I don't care about any of this. I want her to take it all back, say it was all a joke and I would have taken her back because that's how much I love her.

"I'm sorry," Is all I get in response so I run. I run through the district like a possessed fool until I reach the bakery and fall right through the front door into my parents arms. They don't ask what happened, because by tomorrow, the whole district will know that James Mellark was dumped by the love of his life for a coal miner.

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	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to all the reviews/alerts/favorites!

Enjoy!

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The second fight happened only three weeks after my failed proposal. I was closing down the bakery like I did every Friday night, dusting and mopping, preparing the flour and other ingredients for the next morning.

I had my back turned to her when she slipped inside the bakery. I had told her precisely where the spare key to the backdoor was, hidden in a planter adjacent to the pigpen. She knew this because this was the only alone time we ever got. My parents were never home on Friday nights, and neither were hers, allowing us to spend quality time together.

There was no reason for her to be here anymore so I don't bother to acknowledge her and continue mopping. I wondered if she would eventually give up and leave if I kept cleaning and pretending like she doesn't exist.

"Hey."

The nerve.

I plunge the mop back into the bucket, soaking it before mopping a different section of the bakery never acknowledging her presence. I refuse to look at her; those eyes will be the death of me.

"I heard you're getting married."

Yes, I, James Mellark, am getting married.

It didn't take long for the disastrous news of my failed proposal to circulate through the District. Inevitably, I was made the talk of the town but luckily I was not scrutinized for my actions. It doesn't take a genius to guess which side the town's people took.

I had done the honorable thing and asked her to marry me and she had chosen to run off with a coal miner. Literally.

When her father heard of her rejection he had exploded in a fit of rage and promptly kicked her out of the house, disowning her of all inheritance and association with the family. Her mother had slapped Mia across the face calling her a disgrace and sobbed in her husband's arms questioning what they had ever done in their lives to deserve a daughter like her.

Or so I heard. Quite frankly I didn't give a shit. I had woken up the next day and began working at the bakery as if nothing were wrong. She had humiliated me enough; I wasn't going to make matters worse by sulking.

I continued to mop away ignoring her. The tiled floor was beginning to shine from all the soap I had used.

"Why would you do that?" she questions in a defeated tone her voice whimpering. I turn to her, gently leaning the mop on the counter before crossing my arms. Unable to meet her piercing gaze, I look down and ponder over her question.

"You don't even love her."

"I can learn to love her."

"You're making a mistake."

I snort shaking my head "So are you."

"Tell me why you're marrying her."

It was a simple question which had a very simple answer to it.

Rena was a quiet girl. She often stayed with her small clique of friends and away from the spotlight, but the guys always talked about her. She was beautiful, blonde with blue eyes, a nice body and a decent personality. From what my friends had told me she had always had a thing for me and now that I had been promptly dumped by Mia she had begged her father to ask mine if we could get married.

It was a bold move on her part. Girls tend to wait around for the guy to make up his mind. Rena was different, she knew what she wanted and she wanted me and at this point I didn't give a shit anymore. She was quite a catch for a guy that clearly lacked something to be thrown away like trash for a coal miner. When my father had asked me what I thought of marrying Rena I just shrugged my shoulders and had accepted.

Rena was my last opportunity at the life I had always envisioned for myself.

When Mia asks again why I was marrying her, I shrug my shoulders and ask what she wants from me.

"I want you to be happy!" she practically screams in my face clearly frustrated by my lack of interest in pursuing a meaningful conversation.

"I am happy… I mean eventually I will be and Rena will make me happy."

"Why can't you just take your time, why are you rushing into this?" she questions stepping closer to me locking her watering eyes with mine.

I feel something bubble inside me and its way more than just frustration that I feel. I was angry with Mia, she was being selfish, cruel even, and it was making me sick.

"Take my time for what? Wait around for you, is that what you want me to do?" she opens her mouth to speak but I shut her up with my words "What did you expect Mia? That I was going to sit around and cry over you. _Ha!_ You are mistaken if you think you're the only person that deserves to be happy." I am yelling at this point and I can't quite remember when I had raised my voice.

"I already found the one I wanted, the one I envisioned the rest of my life with. It was always you, it will always be you." I am sobbing again. How pathetic. I keep going. "If I can't be with you then the least you can do is to stay the fuck out of my face. Let me be happy with Rena, don't barge in here and try to tell me what to do."

"I'm not telling you anything, I just want you to be happy. I'm sorry that I can't be with you the way you want me to but James you need more than three weeks to figure out what you want." Mia has her arms on my wrist shaking them in her hands demanding my rationality. She was trying to be a friend, but I don't need a friend I am fine without her and I was going to make sure she knew that.

I push her back releasing my hands from her grip before quietly asking her to leave.

She refuses.

I breakdown.

I slump onto the floor and sob into my hands, my body shaking. She was being cruel, she was being unfair.

She slumps down in front of me and wraps her arms around me, pulling my head to her chest while I sobbed into her cotton blouse. Mia apologizes over and over, her voice barely audible, her lips muffled in my hair.

I don't remember how long we sat there in that position but when she pulls away, her eyes are puffy and mine are in pain, I can barely keep them open.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

I didn't take Mia's advice and married Rena a month later.

I don't regret marrying Rena. She turned out to be a fantastic companion and had a great mind for business. My father was ecstatic when he heard of all her suggestions and all those that we incorporated contributed greatly to the success of the bakery.

Rena was a loving wife, and I enjoyed getting to know her throughout the years. She had a short temper but I found that endearing because her outbursts always stemmed from a genuine place. She rarely laughed but when she did, her laughter was so loud that I had to shush her sometimes.

Eventually I realized I had stopped brooding over Mia and my relationship with her. I no longer kept tabs on her life in the seam or tried to spot her at District wide gatherings. My life was progressing exactly the way I had envisioned it.

On my twenty-first birthday, Rena surprised me with a candle lit dinner and a small oddly decorated cake.

"What is this?" I ask her laughing at her 'decorating' skills or lack thereof. Rena was never going to be in charge of icing the cupcakes let alone the cakes and this masterpiece in front of me was proof of that.

Rena was getting angry, I could tell so I pull her into my lap and kiss her on her neck whispering a thank you into her ear.

"Look at the cake." She demands pointing to the cake with a crooked smile. I focus on the cake and try to make out her drawings but fail miserably.

"That's a bottle," she points to a rectangular shape on the cake "and that's a crib" she turns the cake before turning to me with a smile "and that is the stork carrying the baby."

It takes me about a minute to fully understand what Rena was saying and I must have looked like an idiot gawking back at her. She rolls her eyes before turning her face to mine and says "I'm pregnant."

I am up on my feet with Rena in my arms bridal style in seconds. I spin around with her as we both cry out in joy.

For the first time in a very long time, I felt truly happy.

* * *

We were blessed with our second child when we were twenty-four and Rena decided to tell me she was pregnant by writing a simple "I'm pregnant" on a white piece of paper and taping it to the storage room door. She knows I go there every morning to adjust the ovens and must have slipped out of the bed in the middle of the night to plan this surprise.

When she got pregnant for the third time, we were both twenty-six and drained with the stress and responsibility of the first two boys. Rena's traditional surprise pregnancy announcement involved the two older boys this time. She asked me to bathe the two kids and as they came into the shower butt naked my oldest son had "I'm going to be a big brother again" written on his chest in black ink while my second son had "I'm going to be a big brother" on his. I was so excited that I had slipped and tumbled face first into the bath tub that night.

* * *

My wife was almost due when Mia came to the bakery alone one day with a few coins looking to purchase bread. I was surprised to see her because she never came to the bakery and we had barely spoken since that day we had said our goodbyes in the wet soapy floors of the bakery.

"You're pregnant."

Perhaps not the most appropriate thing to say to Mia after all these years. A simple hello would have been better, but it was the first thing that came to my mind and I couldn't stop myself from saying it.

"Yeah… six months." She says running both her hands over her swollen belly. She looked beautiful, her face radiant, her hair rich and blonde, her eyes sparkling.

"Congratulations." I say with a shy smile.

"Do you know what it's going to be?" I ask, packing a few cheese buns for Mia slipping in a couple extras for her.

"A girl." She responds tapping her belly again with a smile.

"And yours?" she asks chuckling when she sees my first two rush down the stairs with their very pregnant mother.

"A boy."

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Next chapter will disclose the reason behind Rena Mellark's sudden change in personality to the cruel women we know, and display some interactions between young Katniss and Peeta.

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